Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: cuthalion on December 22, 2008, 12:54:00 pm
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hey
so ive jsut made a pretty nice self black cherry recurve bow. I was wondering how many people have made a black cherry bow
and how much success have they had with it
also....this is a little off topic...but what do most people use to oil there bow?
instead of oiling is varnish suitable?
thanks
carson
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I've made several BC bows one actually didn't break :) The one that survived did develope many frets
which tells me I didn't have enough limb working. It is beautiful wood and very light in the hand. As for finish
I usually use Tru-Oil, but many things will work, shellac, spar urethane, varnish, poly, plain old parriffin wax,
animal fat like bear grease and so on. No finish is completely water proof but some are better than others.
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hey thanks alot
appreciate it
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I've seen a couple nice cherry selfbows, and a couple nice hickory-backed cherry bows over the years. If you get one to hold together, it makes a nice bow. Tim Baker likes cherry, but most of the cherry bow stories seem to sound like: "man, I had me a nice one going, but then it kersploded" or "......then it chrysaled all over." I have a cherry board that I'm gonna subject to a hickory backing and try to kersplode or chrysal one of these days. :) It sure is nice looking wood, and easy to work. Like Dana said, there are a lot of different finishes that work well. I like Tru-oil, Helmsman spar urathane, or bear grease. How about some pics of the cherry bow?
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Dont forget good ol'fashioned beeswax. Quickly becoming my favorite, just hand rub it in and then put lotion on the blisters,lol. Someone did some testing awhile back and found it to be the most water resistant of all the finishes, old and new....Brian
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Brian, I think parrafin wax was actually the one that got all the kudos in the tests, but beeswax is good too, just kinda sticky. That makes interesting natural camo, though, when you get leaves, dirt, twigs, bugs, spiders, squirrels and such adhered to your bow. ;D
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You might be right and I like that there are bees wings and such in my finish,lol. I cant remember where I read about that...think maybe it was Badger or Marc???...Brian
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How about a few tiny flakes of flint thrown in with the bees wings for good measure? Not out of the question with you knappers bustin' rocks and schrapnel flying around. ;D
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Ouch my I....Brian
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I have only been making bows for about a year, but I made a hickory backed black cherry bow. After a few hundred shots it is still going strong. A couple very small crysals (you have to look close to see them) emerged right when I first started shooting it. But after a few hundred shots they have not gotten any larger. By the sounds of things, though, I should probably stop while I am ahead.
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guys don't tell me that I just gotta big cherry split. :( I use tru-oil then poly on top. Seems to work real well.
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Got any pictures of your new bow?
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I've made 3 hickory backed cherry bows, all with good success. They were all of a wide flatbow design, and they were all light #, 30-40#. No frets, no kaboomski. I like cherry.
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^yah..my bow is in and around that range....i like it....the finish is amazing...and i should have some pics up by tommorow
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Its 2 morrow! We're waiting ;D........
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ok im sorry...im new on this site and i dont no how to upload pictures
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It's where I got my name! I "had" a nice black cherry bow that lasted about 2 years of some serious shooting. It finally developed a crack that made me give it away to a friend for a wall hanger. I think that its success was due to the fact that it was from a big limb and the bow was taken from the top side of the branch. Other attempts made from tree trunks have been very disapointing.....Terry
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Icteam, are your photos on your computer or in an online album? If they're on your computer, when you're done typing your reply, just click on the "Additional Options" link at the bottom left of the reply window. When the "Attach" box appears, click on "Browse" to get your photo attached. If you want to attach more than one, click "more attachments". Photos have to be less than 200 kb.
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wouldn't mind to see a picture of your bow when you figure out how to post the pics